Last week I compared the US – and by extension all economies based on the same model – to Semtex. My exploration of this analogy both ruffled feathers and raised questions. This week, I want to address five of the most common criticisms the article generated.   Have not read part one yet? CLICK HERE  to read it first.   Or CLICK HERE to proceed to the current article! [...]

The Middle East’s biggest economy, Saudi Arabia may run out of financial assets within the next five years if the government maintains its current policies, warns the International Monetary Fund. The conflicts have given rise to large numbers of displaced people and refugees, on a scale not seen since the early 1990s, according to the report. [...]

Anxiety is growing in the bond market as the US gets closer to a potentially catastrophic default if Congress does not raise the $18.1 trillion debt ceiling by November 3. Neither the House of Representatives nor the Senate have offered a bill which would allow Washington to escape disaster. [...]

Let’s start with some classic Russian politics. Finance Minister Anton Siluanov is drawing up Russia's economic strategy for 2016, including the government budget. Siluanov – essentially a liberal, in favor of foreign investment - will present his proposals to the Kremlin by the end of this month. [...]

More and more investors are expressing concern that US stocks are overvalued, which may result in a major bear market - characterized by falling prices and widespread pessimism, Nobel laureate in economics Robert Shiller told the FT. Studies have shown that the level of uncertainty among investors has peaked since the end of the dot-com boom in 2000, said Shiller. [...]

As stock markets continue their slide into negative territory, economists debate whether the problems lie in monetary mismanagement by the US Federal Reserve or with China’s domestic concerns “exporting pain” to others via its yuan devaluation. Speaking to RT, economist Peter Schiff of Euro Pacific Capital Inc. said that there is a lot of “scapegoating” surrounding China and the yua [...]

There is much the ancient world can still teach us, and one of the key lessons today is that mass migration - motivated by war, societal collapse, and poverty - is capable of destroying even the mightiest of empires. At the height of its power, the Roman Empire was so vast and omnipotent that it was run on the basis of the dictum: "Roma locuta est. Causa finita est" (Rome has spoken. The cause [...]

Boeing says it intends to cut "several hundred" jobs due to a decline in US military spending and delays in the number of satellite orders. The move is being blamed over uncertainties regarding future funding from the US Export-Import Bank. The layoffs are set to be implemented by early 2016, according to Reuters, which cited an internal memo within the company. [...]

At the opening bell on Wall Street the Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted as much as 1,000 points in the first minutes of trading. Later it corrected to 485 points down or around three percent. The Nasdaq dropped eight percent at the start of trading, but is now down three percent. The S&P 500 had initially sunk five percent and is now down three percent. [...]

The Dow Jones industrial average suffered its worst loss in five years after the market plunged into a correction on Friday. Stock markets around the world lost value amid concerns over the global economy. The Dow plunged nearly 531 points ‒ 3.1 percent ‒ to close the day at 16,459.75. [...]

The Global Economy Is Imploding, Bankrupt Greece & China! 3 New Incredible Marc Faber Warnings: Global Economy is "weakening" Greece should default Are Chinese markets an "accident to happen?" [...]

Athens has approved a deal to hand over the operation of 14 airports to a German company. The 40-year contract worth €1.23 billion was awarded to Fraport AG, which currently runs Frankfurt Airport. The airports are not the only things on sale in Greece right now. Other travel hubs like ports and railways, the national lottery, water utilities and even the islands are to be sold off. [...]

Every week Max Keiser looks at all the scandal behind the financial news headlines. In this special episode of the Keiser Report from Chicago, Max Keiser and Stacy Herbert discuss the “great manufacturing meltdown” in Chicago. In the second half, Max is joined by Mike ‘Mish’ Shedlock of globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com to discuss Chicago’s junk debt situation. They also explore the e [...]

Gerald Celente: Founder & Director of the Trends Research Institute - Gerald has had a long track record of making some of the most controversial, yet correct calls in terms of global trends and events. In fact, many consider Mr. Celente to be the top trends forecaster in the world. Gerald has been quoted and interviewed in media throughout the world such as KWN, CNBC, Fox, CBS, ABC, NBC, BBC, [...]

The global economy is in for a "catastrophe of historic proportions," says investor Doug Casey. "With these stupid governments printing trillions and trillions of new currency units," says investor Doug Casey, "it's building up to a catastrophe of historic proportions." [...]

China's central bank has put the Russian ruble into circulation in Suifenhe City, Heilongjiang Province, launching a pilot two-currency (ruble and yuan) program. The ruble is being introduced in the place of US dollar. The announcement was made on Saturday by Jin Mei, deputy secretary for monetary policy at the opening ceremony of a trade exposition in Suifenhe, reported state-run Xinhua news a [...]

China’s gold holdings grew by 604 tons to 1,658 tons since 2009, according to the data from People’s Bank of China revealed on Friday. The country thus overtook Russia to become the fifth largest holder of gold in the world. The information has been disclosed after a six-year delay. China’s central bank has reported changes to its gold reserve levels only four times over the last 15 years [...]

In this episode of the Keiser Report, Max Keiser and Stacy Herbert discuss when the ‘EU will be couping and the Greeks will be capitulating,’ while in the US, Senators are introducing legislation to allow Puerto Rico to file Chapter 9 bankruptcy in order to avoid a debt prisoner situation as Greece is enduring. At the same time, in the US, health insurance companies’ stock prices triple in f [...]

As the BRICS/SCO summits wrap up in Russia, RT looks back at the issues dominating three days of meetings with a launch of $100bn reserve currency pool, high hopes about the New Development Bank and the possible impact of Iran deal on oil among them. About 10,000 visitors gathered at the two events, the BRICS and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summits which took place in the Russia [...]

BRICS is gaining momentum as an increasingly effective organization and its New Development Bank is likely to become new source of funding for the current infrastructure gap, South Africa's Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies told RT. There’s a need for more development banks in the world involved in more developmental finance, the minister said on the sidelines of BRICS/SOC summits in Ufa [...]

The Public Investment Fund (PIF) of Saudi Arabia in partnership with the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) has agreed to invest $10 billion into Russian projects. It is the largest foreign investment in Russia. "We have reached final agreements and are announcing the creation of a partnership with the sovereign fund of Saudi Arabia, under which PIF will invest $10 billion into projects on R [...]

Greece may take EU institutions to court to stop its creditors from pushing the country out of the Euro-zone. Athens' bailout expires Tuesday and a default could mean it is exiled by Brussels. “We are taking advice and will certainly consider an injunction at the European Court of Justice. [...]